Marlins' Fernandez likely to get two more starts at home

ATLANTA — Jose Fernandez will not only get one more start in Marlins Park this season. He will likely get two.

Manager Mike Redmond confirmed Saturday that the prized rookie’s next start will be delayed two days until the Marlins open a homestand Friday against the Washington Nationals.

Fernandez is 12 innings short of the team-imposed limit of 170. Redmond said the next start will determine how Fernandez is used after that.

Most likely it will leave him with another start during the Sept. 9-12 series against the Braves at Marlins Park. After going six innings in Friday’s 2-1 loss to the Braves at Turner Field, Fernandez said he looked forward to facing them again at home.

The right-hander’s past five starts have ranged from five to seven innings.

“If he he ends up pitching six innings, then he’ll have six innings. We’ll see how he goes and we’ll adjust according to how many innings he has left,” Redmond said.

And if he goes eight?

“We’ll have to decide if we want to throw him out there for four innings,” Redmond said, adding that the 170-inning limit “is very firm.

“At 170, he’s going to turn into a pinch hitter. That number was put into place to protect him, based on how many innings he’d gone before. That was the range that as an organization we felt comfortable with, 150 to 170 innings depending on how many starts he did.”

The Marlins haven’t announced who will fill Fernandez’s next scheduled turn Wednesday in Chicago against the Cubs. Redmond said it will be one of two pitchers who will be called up from the minors for the three-game series at Wrigley Field.

Coghlan gets call

Chris Coglan will be the first arrival Sunday with teams able to expand active rosters to 40. In addition to the two pitchers, Redmond said more players will arrive when the team returns home.

Coghlan, out since June 8 with a right calf nerve irritation, has been reacclimating to third base during a rehab assignment. He will get a look at third after playing outfield throughout his major league career, but the Marlins are more interested in seeing production from his bat.

“Right now, we need a bat. We need somebody to come in and hit. If he comes in and hits, we’re going to find a spot for him,” Redmond said.

To slide or not

Redmond wasn’t pleased with Fernandez’s head-first slide on his triple Friday due to the injury risk. The more questionable slide in the game was the one Giancarlo Stanton didn’t make in the eighth inning, which resulted in him getting thrown out while trying to advance to second on a deep fly to right.

The oversight drew an angry reproach from Marlins TV commentator Tommy Hutton, who said on air, “That’s how you lose close games.”

Redmond said: “If you’re going to tag there in that point of the game, then you’ve got to make it. I think that’s probably a situation where he wishes he would have slid.”